Dress-stay



P. W. LYON.

DRESS STAY.

Patented Mar. 6,. 1894.4

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UNi'TnD STATES PATENT trier?,6

DRESS-STAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 515,91 6, dated March 6, 1894.

Application tiled May 6, 1893. Serial No. 473,215. (No model.)

T0 @ZZ whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, FREDERICK W. LYON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dress-Stays and l'. do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the construction of hat steel stays for dresses, corsets and similar or analogous purposes in which such articles are employed to give stiffness to articles of apparel and to canse them to retain their conformation to the shape of the body or parts thereof covered by the apparel inV connection with which they are used, and the presentimprovements relate more particularly to double steel dress stays or that description of such articles which consists of two flat steel plates placed together for the purpose of obtaining sufficient strength to withstand the pressure to which the article is exposed without adding to the stiii'ness or weight of the stay.

The objects of the improvements are rst to construct double stays by positively fastening the two steel plates together Without weakening them by the insertion of rivets or other similar devices necessitating the making of holes through the steels; second, to fasten the two steels together at both ends and at the same time retain their free endwise play whereby their elasticity is preserved.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure l represents the shorter of the two steel plates which compose the stay; Fig. 2 the longer plate; Fig. 3 the dress stay formed by placing the two plates together and fastening them at both ends, the stay in this case being represented without a cover or case; Fig. a a transverse section of the stay on line a: rc taken through the fastening of one end; Fig. 5 a longitudinal middle section of a dress stay constructed as above, but representing the saine in a covering or casing of webbing or other material.

Referring to the drawings, the steel A is dat and of any required length and width, the thickness or gage should however be such as to insure lightness and elasticity combined with the requisite strength having in view the fact that the stay is to be double. These points or features, however, will readily sug gest themselves to persons skilled in the art. The steel B should be substantially like steel A in respect of width and gage,but its length is less than A, in order that a single thickness of metal should be at the ends of A.

In the edges of steel A at or about each end are formed notches n, n., these notches being at suoli points or distances from the ends as to be within the ends of steel B. The notches are represented as being in but one edge of the steel, but they may be in both edges if desired.

In steel B, and in the edges thereof correspending to the notches in steel A, are notches 'It' n considerably longer than the notches n n, but with the upper or outer ends thereof preferably in exact alignment with the upper or outer ends of notches n n., this construction being adopted in order that the device by which the steels are fastened together may also serve as a stop to prevent the steel B from slipping endwise when the stay is straight. Thus constructed the two steels are placed together face to face with the notches fn. n at each end adjoining each other,where as will be seen the upper ends e. c of said 'notches align, and in this position they are secured by a steel wire fastener f bent around the steels and on one side sunk into the notches n, n-the two ends of the said wirefastener being carried preferably to the same side of the stay and bent down with the ends parallel and overlapping, as clearly shown in Figs. 3, and d. By making the outer ends of the slots to align as before described, the wire fastener bears equally against the said ends and as the slots n. at. in steel A are just wide enough to admit the fastener, the two steels are held fast together against slipping or endwise play when the stay is perfectly straight. When, however, the stay is bent or bowed with the steel B inward, whereby its ends are brought toward each other, the elongation of the slots n', n', permits the ends of steel B to slip toward the ends of steel A and permit the latter steel to bend or to be bent with perfect ease and without lessening its elasticity in the slightest degree. By fastening both ends of the short steel B, the durability ICO ' of the stay is greatly enhanced, as under no circumstances can the strain of bending fall on one steel alone, and the facility of handling the stay, covering it and inserting it in pockets in the dress or corset is greatly increased. The steel A being longer than B in the ends beyond the latter rivet holes h. h. are formed to receive the rivets with which the tips t, t, of the cover are fastened. The stay Where a cover is desired is inserted in a pocket P made of a Webbed fabric, kid or other suitable material, preferably but not necessarily open at both ends, and when open at both ends, the ends of the steel A, are coveredfand the entire stay secured in the pocket, by tips t made of the same material as the pocket, which are doubled over the ends of thesteel A and the ends of the pocket and fastened by a tubular rivet fr passed through the ends of the tips and the rivet hole h, as zo clearly shown in Fig. 5.

I claim- In a dress-stay, the combination of a steel A provided with notches at or near each end, a steel B, shorter than A, provided with elongated notches at or near each end and Wire fasteners Wrapped around the two steels and inserted in the notches to fasten the two steels together and also serve as stops to limit the endwise motion of the steels, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the invention above set forth I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

FREDERICK W. LYON.

Vitnesses:

FREDK. I-IAYNEs, CHAs. E. PETERS. 

